“YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE”

JONAH 1:1-10, 15-16

Jonah 1:1  Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,

2  "Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me."

3  But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

4  But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up.

5  Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep.

6  The captain came and said to him, "What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish."

7  The sailors said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.

8  Then they said to him, "Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?"

9  "I am a Hebrew," he replied. "I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

10  Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them so.

15  So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging.

16  Then the men feared the LORD even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

17  But the LORD provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

There’s a lesson to be learned from the story of Jonah and the Great Fish. I’m not sure though if it’s the same lesson a little girl learned one day in her Sunday School class. One day the teacher told the children how God wanted Jonah to go and preach repentance to the people of Nineveh.  She also told them how Jonah got on a boat that was going to Tarshish because he didn’t want to do that.  Then she told them how a great fish swallowed Jonah up and then three days later spit him up onto dry land. “Now,” the teacher said when she was finished. “What does this story teach us?”  Immediately, six-year-old Samantha raised her hand. “I know, I know,” she said. “It teaches us that people make whales sick.”

Theirs is of course another lesson to be learned when it comes to the story of Jonah and the Great Fish. I learned the lesson many years ago. You see, there was a time when I was just like Jonah. There was a time when I was running away from God. There was a time when I was running away from God and what God wanted me to do with my life. Maybe you can remember a time when you tried to run away from God yourself.

The call kept coming back though at unexpected times and in unexpected ways.  For example, when I was a junior in high school I met with one of the guidance counselors to discuss what I was going to do after I graduated.  It was something that every junior was required to do.  I’ll never forget it.  After I sat down in front of his desk the guidance counselor said, “I’ve been checking into seminaries for you since I understand that you want to be a minister.”  I was shocked.  I was shocked because I don’t remember ever telling anyone about that deep inner thought. 

Well, I ended up going to Boston University and my intent was to go on to law school.  For various reasons though, I decided to change my major after my freshman year.  I transferred over to the School of Public Communications so I could get a degree in journalism.  That proved to be a big mistake though.  It proved to be a big mistake because it took me to a different building on the campus.  It took me to a building and a plaque that had a very thought provoking quote on it.  The quote was from the 18^th century educator Horace Mann.  He once said, “Be ashamed to die until you have achieved some great victory for man.”  Now this is going to sound crazy to you, but I literally could not walk past that plaque without stopping to read it again and again and again.  Today I realize that God was bringing me face to face with my call through the words on that plaque. I thought I was running away from God and what God wanted me to do with my life.  I learned though that when it comes to God and what God wants you to do with your life you can run but you can’t hide.

Jonah also tried to run away from God. You see, Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh and preach repentance to the people of that great city. Why? Because Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria and the Assyrians weren’t God’s chosen people. Jonah couldn’t believe that God cared about all those hedonistic heathens. So, Jonah got on a boat that was on its way to Tarshish. Now if you look at a map of the world back then you’ll see that Tarish was 180 degrees in the other direction. In other words Jonah was going west when God wanted him to go east. Jonah was running away from God and that’s what led to his encounter with the great fish. In the end Jonah turned around and did what God wanted him to do.

People try to run away from God all the time. I’ve done and I bet you’ve done it too.  It happens when God wants you to do one thing and you want to do something else.  It happens when you try to run away from a problem and God keeps telling you that you have to face it. It happens when God challenges you to change the way you’re living your life. Instead of doing that though you dig your heels in because you like things just the way they are.

Jonah was like that when it came to the people of Nineveh. As far as he was concerned they were bawdy barbarians. He didn’t want to entertain the possibility that God also loved the people of Nineveh.  So, he got on that boat and tried to run away from God.

It happens all the time. Maybe you can remember a time when you tried to run away from God.  Maybe you’re trying to run away from God right now. It happens when you see something that’s wrong and you tell yourself not to get involved.  God keeps knocking on the door to your conscience though and keeps telling you that you are your brother’s keeper.  It happens when you do something wrong yourself and you tell yourself it wasn’t your fault. Or you tell yourself that there were extenuating circumstances. Or you tell yourself that compared to what other people are doing these days what you did wasn’t all that bad. Then you come to church and you hear how Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”  Sometimes you run away from God when you’re bitter about something and you refuse to forgive.  That’s what happened to a woman in the aftermath of the Civil War.  In his book, Lee: The Last Years, Charles Bracelen shares a story about an encounter that General Robert E. Lee had with woman down in Kentucky who lived in a stately home. Shortly after he arrived at her home the woman showed the General Lee the remains of a grand old tree on her property.  It was obvious the tree held great sentimental value to her. The woman cried as she described how the tree had been destroyed by Union artillery fire.  She expected Lee to sympathize with her and condemn the North for all the atrocities they had committed.  Instead Lee just looked at the tree and quietly said, “Cut it down, my dear madam, and forget it.”

Are you running away from God and something that God wants you to do?  If so, I can tell you from personal experience that you can run but you can’t hide. If God really wants you to do something, God is going to keep after you until you do what you need to do.  Now God isn’t going to do that just for the fun of it.  God is going to keep after you because God knows it’s what you need to do to bring a little more healing and happiness and hope into your life.  God is going to keep after you because God knows it’s what you need to do to bring a little more peace and a sense of purpose into your life.

That’s why I like the story about the millionaire and the missionary. One Sunday morning the millionaire was asked to testify and talk about relationship with God. The millionaire started off by attributing his great wealth to God.  It all started, he said, when he was a young man. Shortly after he earned his first dollar he found himself at a prayer meeting. The speaker that night was a missionary who told about his work bring Christ and his love to people in far way lands. After the missionary finished speaking the pastor announced that the offering would be used to support the missionary’s work. Suddenly the millionaire said he found himself faced with a dilemma. He wanted to give something, but he only had a dollar and he knew he couldn’t make change from the offering plate. That meant he either had to give every cent he had or nothing at all.  So, he took a deep breath and put the dollar bill in the plate.  That decision changed his relationship with God the millionaire said and he knew it was the reason God made him a very wealthy man. God did that, the millionaire said so he could use his wealth to do His will. With that the millionaire went back to his pew. Shortly after he sat down an elderly woman sitting behind him leaned forward and whispered, “I dare you to do it again.”

If someone said that to me, I know exactly what I’d say. I’d say, “Yes I would. I would do it again.”  The best thing I ever did was stop running away from God and what God wanted me to do with my life. That’s because God really does know what’s best.  God knew what was best for me and for Jonah and that millionaire and God also knows what’s best for you.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

January 22, 2006